Indianapolis-based ProCLAD, a specialty contractor that focuses on buildings’ exterior envelopes, provides its customers with everything required for the exterior enclosures of industrial and commercial sites. It supplies and installs composite metal panels, metal wall panels, metal roof systems, sunshades, louvers, screen walls, retrofit walls and architectural fabrics.
The firm got a chance to walk in its clients’ shoes with the construction of its new headquarters last year. Metal panels and an integrated window system were utilized for ProCLAD’s 15,000-square-foot (1394-m2) building.
Brad Hitzfield, ProCLAD’s chief executive officer and founder, is quite pleased with the final product. “The curb appeal is really awesome with the horizontal lines we established with the [window system] along with the metal architectural panel,” he says. “The lines carry nicely around the building.”
THE WOW FACTOR
Metal panels have been a part of Hitzfield’s career since the beginning. He got his start in construction right out of high school and worked for five years as an ironworker before obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in construction technology from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. He founded ProCLAD after working in the metal panel industry for 16 years.
Because of his background, Hitzfield was very involved in the design and construction process and wanted his company’s building to have a “wow factor” for clients who visit. However, the facility couldn’t be just about looks; it also needed to serve as a multifunctional environment, incorporating offices, production and a warehouse.
Architect Jim Burris of Lamson and Condon Architecture and Interior Design, Indianapolis, was up for the challenge. The firm handles diverse projects, including commercial offices, warehouses, light manufacturing, retail big box or small space, and secondary and collegiate educational facilities. “Hitzfield wanted his building to be a showroom for what he does,” Burris explains. “He wanted us to incorporate features that show how the panels could be used.”
Burris also addressed the different types of spaces required for the business to function. “There were considerations like architectural entrances, large expanses of glass, large overhead doors and ventilation,” he says.
JOINT EFFORT
Hitzfield and Burris worked with factory-insulated, all-in-one composite panels and wall panels, using 3,500 square feet (325 m2) of interior partition walls and 12,000 square feet (1115 m2) of exterior horizontal architectural pan- els. Horizontal reveals from the composite panels were incorporated in the building’s design. When completed, the panels, which are finished in Tahoe blue and cool metal- lic silver, had no exposed fasteners as they folded around corners of the facility. “The panels were flexible and could be used horizontally or vertically. They were easy to incorporate and install and will be easier to maintain,” Burris says.
Credit: Dietrich Floeter
There were design challenges, of course. “I had to concentrate on the joining of the panels, being careful of where they fall in the finished design,” Burris explains. “You have to be clever to get the design to work out, minimize waste, and use the installa- tion guidelines in the manufacturer’s war- ranties. That was the biggest challenge.” Another challenge in building the new headquarters involved the municipality’s strict covenants. Officials in many com- mercial and residential areas today are requiring new or renovated structures to be compatible with existing buildings. Pre- engineered buildings with metal panels were not allowed in the desired commercial overlay area. After a series of meetings, however, Hitzfield and Burris were able to assure the municipality that the architec- tural panels selected would maintain the look of the area’s existing buildings.
DO IT YOURSELF
The building took about four months to complete. ProCLAD was able to supply and install the panels themselves. “We started the first of September 2006 and moved in the first of January 2007,” Hitzfield says. “It makes things a bit easier when you do it yourself.”
However, Burris does note one limitation of using integrated window systems. Sometimes the selection is limited and there can be a considerable price increase to create something that is customized.
LESS IS MORE
In view of sustainability, prefabrication of building materials is something to be considered by builders and developers because it reduces costs and waste. In many cases, prefabrication can increase product quality, shorten build time, and enhance contractor profits and productivity. And while prefabricated metal panels may have suffered from an image problem in the 1960s and 1970s, today more attractive options are available and provide an economical, environmentally friendly option for building and construction.
Although from an energy standpoint Hitzfield considers the R-16 value of the insulated panels “an added bonus,” in the end Hitzfield achieved his main goal—creating a true representation of potential metal panel applications to customers and architects that visit the Indianapolis headquarters.
Proclad Headquarters
ARCHITECT / Lamson and Condon Architecture and Interior Design, Indianapolis, (317) 266-9830
METAL WALL PANEL SUPPLIER AND INSTALLER / ProCLAD, Indianapolis, (317)845-5300
GENERAL CONTRACTOR / MacDougall Pierce Construction, Inc., Indianapolis, (317) 596-6371
METAL WALL PANELS / CF30 Architectural Flat Wall Panels in cool metallic silver and Tahoe Blue from Metl-Span, Lewisville, TX, www.metlspan.com
COMPOSITE WALL PANELS / Sobotec SL-2000 Composite Wall Panels from Sobotec, Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, www.sobotec.com
WINDOW SYSTEM / Metl-Vision Window System from Metl-Span.
Sheila Phinazee writes about architecture, construction and ornamental metal fabrication from Raleigh, N.C.